SPANISH HARLEM – The Major League Baseball Winter Meetings are right around the corner. Its usually a time when a lot of deals get done, General Managers get to talk face to face and if there is something brewing, it allows the opportunity for alot of activity. This past week we saw some action from the New York Yankees, who met with Patrick Corbin, arguably, the best free agent pitcher on the market. Most notably a Yankees fan, growing up in upstate New York, the organization pulled out all the stops to let Corbin know that they would be a player for his services this offseason. The Yankees so far have made pitching their top priority, dealing for James Paxton, knowing they need a great pitching staff if they want to compete with the likes of Boston.
We all know that Patrick Corbin would be on this teams radar, after getting almost nothing from their starters this past post season, the Yankees knew it was important to make their pitching staff a strength and what better way than getting the best guys available. They did that with Paxton but he was only one piece of that puzzle, Corbin was the next and though they are the favorites, it will come down to money. It always does and while they Yankees can brake the bank to get whomever they want, this is not the Yankee front office we all know and loved during the George Steinbrenner era. They are smarter about how they spend their money and though Corbin is the best pitcher on the market, that doesn’t guarantee he will be in a Yankee uniform. Make no mistake, the Yankees need pitching and they need Corbin, if they want to make a push for ring number 28, so it will be wise to lock this down and move on to other moves to make this team better.
Speaking of making teams better, I love the move the New York Mets made to trade for Robinson Cano. Not because they get a former Yankee but because they got a closer, Edwin Diaz. I know people will say that the Mets gave up too much in this trade and added a huge contract for someone who probably is on the downside of their career but really, it was too hard to pass up when you get a kid like Diaz, who is a stud reliever, under contract for the next 4 years. Diaz is young and will stay under a team friendly contract, which will offset some of the big money that’s due to come Cano’s way. Diaz will provide elite pitching, late in games and will finally give this team some hope that they won’t lose games because of mediocre relief pitching. While you shouldn’t expect this Cano to be the same guy the Yankees had from a couple years ago, you will get a steady lefty bat, that can still produce. The Mets made a big move when they completed this deal and I’m sure, they are far from done.
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